The Killing Game
by FM Jacquet
Summary: On a warm summer night, Jake Clawson is smuggled onto the shores of the Megakat Republic. His mission: Assassinate Ulysses Feral and bring down the Aryan Alliance Police State. Based upon the book K is for Killing by Daniel Easterman.
1. Chapter I

I

A warm, mild breeze rolled over the shoreline as the conning tower of the _Bell _rose out of the water like some sea monster from an ancient myth. Water slicked off its bow as it bobbed slightly before settling. It had to remain at least a mile from the shoreline, lest it wished to be detected by radar. In the belly of the iron beast, a young ensign observed through a periscope at the shore, scanning for any signs of potential trouble. When he was satisfied, he turned to his captain, a thirty-something kat named Bloomingclaw. "Shore looks clear, sir." The captain stepped forward and looked into the eyepieces.

"I hope so. You're sure this is the correct spot?"

"I checked the coordinates twice sir. This is where the boatman said he'd meet us." Bloomingclaw looked down at his watch. The glowing numbers on his watch read 11:35 PM. In ten minutes, the boatkat would arrive for the consignment.

"Alright. Have our signaler go up top. Tell him to take a rifle." The ensign raised an eyebrow.

"Sir?"

"Just in case." replied Bloomingfeld.

"Yes sir."

The young man saluted and turned to walk down a passageway. The captain went in the opposite direction, appearaing in the doorway of the third room on his left. Inside, a young kat was preparing himself with a double breasted suit and tie. His name was Jake Clawson, or at least that's what it said on his birth certificate. His new name was Jake Shorthair and so it would for the time he was to spend in the Megakat Republic.

The captain rested his hand against the side of the door. "Are you ready to go, Jake?" Jake Clawson finished straightening his tie and turned.

"Yes sir."

"Alright. We're scheduled to meet the boatman in about ten minutes. You remember the link-word?"

"Hieronymus."

"Excellent." The captain turned and walked down the hall towards the main room. Jake grabbed his overcoat and followed close behind. The two shimmied up the ladder onto the conning tower where the cool ocean breeze wafted gently onto their faces. The signaler had a hand on an Aldus Lamp, an ancient piece of equipment not seen, perhaps, since Mega War II. Using radios at such close proximity to the shore was too much of a risk. Bloomingclaw brought a pair of binoculars to his eyes and peered out into the distance, scanning for any signs of the boatman. A flash of light caught his eye and he immediately turned in its direction. It was coming from the forward bow of a small wooden craft puttering its way towards the giant steel submarine.

"What's he saying?" asked the

"He says he ready to receive sir."

"Signal back. Tell him we have the package." Jake frowned. He didn't appreciate being called a package, especially when the package was about to embark on a mission from whom he was not intended to return. A few minutes later, the boat pulled up alongside the hull and a rope was tossed up. Jake and the signalman caught it and tied it to a mooring loop on the side of the tower. "Do you have my stuff?" asked the boatkat.

"Yeah we got it. I'll have the men bring it up while you take our guy onboard." The captain called down for the "stuff" then turned to Jake and extended his hand. "I suppose this is our farewell. Good luck, and if I live, come look me up after this mess." The kat in the double-breasted suit nodded.

"Assuming that I live too, I'll make sure to do that. Thanks for everything." The two shook hands, then saluted. Jake descended the ladder to the deck and carefully stepped into the boat and sat down.

"Codeword?" asked Jake.

"Easel. Link-word?"

"Hieronymus." The boatman nodded. After four small crates had exchanged hands from the crew to the boatman, he undid the line and fired the engine, slowly drifting away from the _Bell. _

The pair made it to the shore ten minutes later and beached the small craft.

"Follow me." said the boatkat Jake complied, not wishing to compromise the mission. Roughly 100 yards from the shore in some tall grass was a black sedan. The boatman led him to it and opened the door like an obedient chauffeur. "Hop in." Jake tucked his hands into his pockets and did exactly that. "The papers for the car are in the glove compartment. I also took the liberty of including a few roadmaps. There's also an internal compartment with a .45 automatic and ammunition. Just press the side of the wall."

"What do the roads look like tonight? Who should I expect to see?"

"Police are always out but they're on double patrols tonight. Steele put in motion a new directive: No Jews or non-Aryans on the roads after 7:00 without a permit from an overseer." Jake cringed. The sound of Steele's name sent shivers down his spine and made his blood run cold.

"What about Steele's men? Are they out there tonight?"

"FBSS? Hell no. They'll stay at home tonight and leave the skull-cracking to local police and the Khaki-Shirts. Once you close to the capital, then you'll start seeing them." Jake nodded his head and shut the door. The boatkat tapped the window. Jake obliged by rolling it down. "One other thing. If you need anymore ammunition or anything else, don't go to the stores. Get in contact with our people. The gun's out of a government store so there's no way they can trace it."

"Thanks for everything. Can I give a ride? At least back to the main road. "

"Thanks, but no thanks. I gotta' get that boat back to where it's supposed to be. Well, good luck." Jake rolled up the window and fired up the engine, then watched in his rearview mirror as the boatkat was swallowed up by the seemingly infinite darkness.


	2. Chapter II

II

Jake kept the lights off until he came upon the highway. Then he turned on the low-beams and drove slowly, but not too slowly. Shortly after his arrival onto the highway, he passed a group of kats sauntering slowly across the shoulder to his right. Closer inspection would have revealed that they were slaves being marched home after a day of hard labor. Large M's had been branded into the flesh of their cheeks, creating patches on which hair would never grow again. The M stood for mongrel, indicating they were of an inferior race. The overseers stopped and admired Jake's car as he passed, but Jake drove on, trying not to think about the slaves grim prospects.

An hour or so later, he came upon the first of a series of billboards. Lit by a floodlight, it announced in enormous black lettering, ALL NON-ARYANS MUST REGISTER WITH LOCAL BOARD. It would remain seared in his mind for the rest of his life. The second came not long after the first. NON-ARYAN CURFEW: 7:00 PM. NO EXCEPTIONS. The next few were nothing more than banal catchphrases, something to insight the masses. RAMSEY COUNTY: JEW-FREE SINCE 21'; DISSIDENT AGITATORS: GET OUT OR GET SHOT; ARYAN JUSTICE IS GOD'S JUSTICE.

More appeared but Jake had started to ignore them. His primary concern was not catching the attention of any police. His ID card identified him as a pure-Aryan citizen, but he wondered how he would fair if scrutinized. He was about to find out. A flashing red light appeared in his rearview mirror and the penetrating sounds of a blaring siren caused his heart to skip a beat. "Shit. Christ no." he thought as he pulled over to the side of the road. The police car followed and an officer emerged. He sauntered condescendingly up to the car and tapped on the window.

"Is there a problem officer?" asked Jake somewhat meekly as he looked up at the kat.

"I'll ask the questions here buddy." he responded as he looked over the outside of Jake's car. "Saw you coming pretty fast back there."

"Was I speeding sir?"

"Yeah a bit, but nothing to get my shorts in a bunch." Jake was tempted to ask _what the hell is the problem?_ but restrained himself. "Mind if I see your ID card?"

"No sir." Jake reached into his rear pocket and withdrew his wallet. After thumbing through it, he handed the officer a white laminated card. It read:

_Last Name: Shorthair_

_First Name/ Middle Int: Jacob E. _

_Date of Birth: December 18, 1998_

_Height: 5'11_

_Weight: 156 Lbs_

_Eye Color: Blue_

_Fur Color: Brown_

_Registration Number: 173457 _

_PURE ARYAN CITIZEN_

_REGISTERED BY MEGAKAT GENEOLOGICAL OFFICE, 3/6/23_

The officer handed the ID back to Jake. "Well, Mr. Shorthair, your registration appears to be in order. I just thought you were coming down a bit fast and you won't want to miss what's happening at the Sheriff's office."

"Ah yes." Jake had no idea what he meant, but still he smiled and nodded. "I was just passing through when I heard about it."

"So you're not from around here then. Well, better get a move on less you want to miss the show."

"Sure. Which way it is? I'm kind of lost."

"Yeah, just follow my car." Jake nodded and watched as the kat returned to his vehicle. He then followed him as a pulled ahead, wondering what sort of surprise there was in store.

Fifteen or so minutes later, they came upon a small town. It was the picturesque version of a rural community. Dirt streets, a single movie theatre, row upon row of pick up trucks. It was charming, yet Jake felt as though there was something sinister about it. His suspicions were further intrigued when saw a crowd gathered at edge of town. As he pulled in closer, Jake could hear them speaking in anxious tones. The crowd was gathered around a large, wooden crossbeam in front of a structure with the words RAMSEY COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE stenciled above the entrance. As he stepped out of the car, Jake noted that nearly all the people in the crowd were wearing the uniforms. The majority were Aryan Alliance Militia, dressed in the color from which they drew their nick-name, the Khaki-Shirts. The rest wore either Enforcer green or state police black. The officer who had pulled Jake over was now standing at the entrance to the sheriff's office, flanking the door with another officer. The crowd burst into frenzy as two kats in raggedy jail stripes were led out of the building and over to the crossbeam. Following them was a cat in a Khaki-Shirts uniform that stretched his arms out as though welcoming the crowd. He waved them in a circular motion as, quieting them before clearing his throat.

"Friends…" he started. Jake was startled by the calm, friendly demeanor of his voice. "We brought you out here tonight to see some justice done. Some good old fashioned Aryan justice." Suddenly, Jake understood what was going on. He moved slowly to the rear as the crowd again began to cheer. The kat in charge quickly silenced them. "What we got ourselves here tonight is a couple of pervert mongrels! If they think that they get away with looking at Aryan women, they can't think again! Not since this country got itself right will that go unpunished!" The crowd whooped and hollered as two Khaki-Shirts scooped up one of the hapless convicts and dragged him over to the crossbeam. He squirmed and fought, but was unable to break away from the grip of the two kats. After a rope was thrown over the top beam, they placed it around his neck and pulled hard, hoisting him into the air. He kicked and struggled, but it was of little avail as they left him to slowly die from asphyxiation. The crowd cheered and the man in charge again motioned for them to quiet down. "Well, folks, it's getting late, and I know these fine police officers have other matters they need to attend to, so let's wrap this up." He turned and nodded for the second convict to be brought up and suffer the same fate. By that time, Jake was already gone. It was simply more than he could handle.


	3. Chapter III

III

Jake was a good distance out of town when he stopped by the side of the road. His stomach churned as he thought of the two kats dying at the end of those ropes. A cold sweat rolled down his forehead and a lump formed in his throat. Before he knew it, he was out of the car and throwing up into a ditch by the side of the road. When he had finished, he wiped the spittle from around his mouth with the back of his hand and rubbed it into the grass. After regaining his composure, he stood up and got back into the Sedan and sighed, trying to put his head back in order. This was the reality of the new republic, and it was something he was going to have to learn to deal with. But how could that be? How could that have become the social norm in the time since he left? It had only been four years and already his homeland seemed so foreign to him. There was no time to mourn however. Jake looked back down at the steering wheel and reached for the ignition, only to be stopped by the sound screech of sirens. A police car pulled up behind him, and the same police officer that had pulled him over earlier emerged from the vehicle. This time, he walked quickly to Jake's, as though he had some sort of intent. "You left kind of quick back there." he said after the window was rolled down. Jake thought quickly.

"I'm supposed to be in Megakat City by morning."

"You got plenty of time to get there."

"I wanted to see some of the country."

"There ain't much to see at night."

"I like the country at the night. Not as many people out. Makes it a whole lot quieter."

"That sounds a bit asocial." Jake's heart sank. A crude joke that had run through the country was that there were three sure-fire tickets to a resettlement camp: Being a Jew, being a dissident, and being too quiet.

"I've never seen a lynching before. I suppose it kind of startled me."

"That back there was no lynching. That was a public execution."

"Look, sir, I don't see what the hell this has to do with..."

"Watch your mouth, buddy. Now, I want to see your license and registration for the car, so why don't you just hand them over nice and slow." Jake said nothing. Things had rapidly deteriorated and now had to think of a way out of this mess. He reached over and opened the glove compartment, deciding to take his time while he debated whether or not to go for the gun in the secret compartment. "Oh, and if you have a gun, you best leave it in there, unless you want me decorate the interior of your car." That settled the debate. Jake picked up the papers and handed them to the officer, then slowly placed his hand on the door handle. "This seems to be in order, but I'd like to get a few things confirmed. Why don't you step out of the vehicle and we'll have a little chat down at the sheriff's office." Jakehad a plan now. He quickly pulled the handle down andpushed the door it as hard as he could, knocking his would-be arrestor back a few feet. When he had regained his stamina, the officer removed his truncheon and lunged, but Jake's training kicked in. With speed, he caught the kat's arm brought it down into his armpit. After a few good jerks, it dropped loose from his hand. He then elbowed the officer in the gut and knocked him back. This time, he wobbled back and forth. Then Jake saw another opportunity. On his right hip, Jake saw that there was no top strap on the kat's holster. He quickly reached forward and snatched the pistol, then pointed it at his head while simultaneously stepping backwards. When the officer saw what had happened he froze. The two stood and faced each other for several seconds before one of them broke the silence.

"Now wait just a second…" BANG! Jake's conscience left him and he squeezed the trigger, sending a bullet through his adversary's forehead, blowing out the back of his skull in a bloody spurt. He stood motionless before his eyes rolled back into head and he dropped backwards. Jake sniffed and threw the pistol into front seat. He knew what he had to do. After slipping on a pair of leather gloves, he grabbed the officer's boots and pulled him off the side of the road into the ditch. When that was done, he walked back and began kicking mounds of dirt onto the trail of blood to cover it up, then picked up the skull fragments with a handkerchief. Finally he got back into the car and drove down the road until he came to a small bridge overlooking a creek. He withdrew the magazine from the gun and threw the two pieces off opposite sides of the bridge, then burned the handkerchief. Finally, the grisly task was over. A few seconds later, Jake's conscience returned to him, and he realized that someone was now dead by his hand.


	4. Excerpt 1: Tiger S Sutton

Excerpt from Tiger S. Sutton's _The Awakening Beast: A History of Megakat Republic Under the Aryan Alliance_. (Conckel Publications, Megakat City. 2063)

By 2019, the Megakat Republic was in dire peril. Soaring inflation coupled with rampant unemployment and the ineffective administration of President Manx led most citizens to search for hope outside of mainstream politics. That hope came in the form of Paul Felis and the Aryan Alliance.

To the average citizen, Felis was certainly extreme in his political views, but the disastrous Manx Administration had led them that there was no other choice. Indeed, many moderate right-wing voters and politicians had been fooled into believing that electing Felis would cause a change in his ideology, and that he would even renounce his ties with the group. It was not too far-fetched a notion. Had the Alliance been a political fringe group of the time, it would have been more than likely that respectable politician like him would have shaken ties with it.

But the Alliance nothing even remotely near a fringe group. It was a well-oiled, political machine, and Felis demonstrated his intention to elevate it to power when he selected Ulysses Feral to be his vice president. The commander of the Enforcers was more than eager to accept the invitation. A fascist himself, Feral was the perfect choice to help lead the Alliance.

The move, however, proved to be a double edged sword. The senior leadership of the Enforcers consisted of more hard-line fascists who wanted to see their man on the seat of power. To them, Felis was a liability. His style of patriotic fascism was too democratic for their tastes, and they worried that this would impede their agenda. Still, Feral conceded, knowing that his opportunity for power would come with time. This clash in politics, however, created a strong undertone of animosity between the two groups that would ultimately prove their undoing.

With the Enforcers now on his side, Felis had a much broader power base than simply the Alliance itself, and when the election came in November, the result was hardly surprising: Felis by a landslide.


	5. Chapter IV

IV

The road to Megakat city was choked by roadblocks. In rural areas, they were usually arrangements of police vehicles, operated by officers armed with whatever weapons they carried with them. The closer Jake drew to the city, the more professional they became. Fixed emplacements, manned exclusively by uniformed agents of the Federal Bureau of State Security. Andrew Steele's gray-suited angels of death created an imposing presence, heavily armed with machine guns, sub-machine guns, and assault rifles.

Before he could enter the capital, Jake had to pass through the nefarious checkpoint Steele, a filter designed to root out undesirables and members of the resistance. Anyone who was caught there would find themselves locked into the back of a windowless truck, bound for a torture chamber at FBSS headquarters. Jake knew he was coming upon it when he saw a line of cars ahead of him. At the head of the line, a large wooden guard box and gate had been constructed with .50 caliber machine guns set up on either side. Beyond that, a series of concrete walls had been arranged to discourage anyone from putting their foot down on the accelerator.

When his turn came, (Jake tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach). A kat in a trench-coat and aviator sunglasses greeted him at the guardbox. "License and ID card." he said in an automaton-like fashion. Jake handed him both cards. The kat lowered his sunglasses and compared the pictures on all three to Jake's face. When he was satisfied, he carefully punched the vital information from both into his computer then turned back and began his interrogation.

"What's the purpose of this visitation?"

"I'm visiting an old friend."

"And his name is?"

"Furlong, Chance Furlong."

"How do you know him?"

"We both went to law school together. We split up when he joined the FBSS and I went down south for a job with a private firm."

"What kind of law do you practice?"

"Administrative."

"Alright." The guard punched the named Furlong into his computer, which gave him access to a database of all registered residents of Megakat City. His name and portrait appeared, along with information that read _Officer, FBSS, Administrative Justice Division_. Below that was bold label that read _REGISTERED ARYAN CITIZEN_. The guard handed the ID's back to Jake, accompanied by a pink piece of paper with his handwriting on it.

"This is your entry permit. There will be another guardbox up ahead. Just make sure you show it to them."

"Thank you." The guard pushed his sunglasses back up his nose and pressed a button to lift the beam wooden bar blocking Jake's path. After navigating the concrete roadblocks and handing in is entry permit at the second guardhouse, he was finally allowed to enter the monolithic capital city, the central processing unit to the well-organized computer that was the Megakat Republic. Jake might have been able to escape the billboards in the countryside, but in the capital, he was bombarded at every turn with slogans and stylized portraits of Paul Felis and Ulysses Feral. Upon entering the capital, Jake was greeted by an enormous portrait of Paul Felis with his arm stretched out in a fascist salute. The slogan beneath it read _PROTECTOR OF OUR RACE, WARRIOR OF THE PEOPLE, CHAMPION OF FREEDOM_. Jake scoffed. The very idea that Felis was the champion of any freedom made him ill. In addition to the placards and billboards, there were flags lining the streets: The Republic's flag with its yellow cross and black star against a blue background, the Alliance flag with its three A's set inside a white circle against a red background, and the Enforcer flag, a black background with a small red cross and a sword set at an angle against it.

The end of the street turned into a residential neighborhood and Jake stopped his car in front of a large house marked with the number 1326. This was Furlong's house. He stepped out of the car and walked slowly to the front door. Before wrapping the knocker, he swallowed a huge lump that had formed in his throat. It had been four years since he had seen Chance. The two had served in the Enforcers when it was still a strictly police group, but during the rise of the Alliance, Chance became convinced that it would be a passing political fad. He had been wrong, very wrong.

Finally, Jake knocked on the door. Slowly, it opened and stopped when the chain on the other side restricted it. "Hello Chance," Jake choked. "It's been a long time." The kat at the door smiled and closed the door, unlocking the chain and ushering Jake in. When the door was closed, they hugged each other and laughed.

"It sure has been a while, Jake. Four years. Let me take a look at you." Chance pushed Jake back and kept his arms on his shoulders, examining him. "You look great." He said.

"Likewise. I think that uniform is fitting for you." Chance was wearing the uniform of an FBSS Lieutenant-Colonel. "Oh Jesus, don't remind me."

"How did you end up wearing that thing anyway?"

"It's a long story. Why don't I tell it to you over coffee."

"Oh my, yes. I haven't had real coffee in almost a year."

"Then let me oblige." Chance turned and disappeared beyond his dining room into a kitchen. "Just make yourself at home." Jake, turned and walked slowly out of the entrance alcove into a living room laden with comfortable furniture. He looked around at the pictures that sat on the mantle above the fireplace. They showed various kats, male and female, all of them looking as though they predated the war. In more than one, he was shaking hands with party elite and military officials. "Here we are." Jake turned to see John appearing with a silver serving tray filled with various accoutrements. He set it down on a round, mahogany coffee table and the two dug in. Coffee with cream and sugar, tiny cookies and chocolates. Jake's mouth watered. He hadn't seen any of this since he had gone overseas after the Aryan Alliance takeover.

"So tell me what you have been doing since you left." implored as he refilled Jake's cup.

"The first few months were a nightmare. It was almost impossible to get a foreign visa if you a Megakat citizen. I was held and detained for about four months until the consulate from Ursalia came to the rescue."

"What did they need you for?"

"They were looking for anybody who had been in the Enforcers before the takeover. They brought me to the Prime Minister and he made me an advisor of foreign intelligence. I was then asked if I wanted a job in Special Operations Division. If I had known they'd be sending me back here, I might have thought twice, but well, here I am. What about yourself?"

"Well once the Enforcers became part of the Alliance, I resigned my commission. I spent the next four years in law school and was then approached by the FBSS. Of course by then, I was member of the resistance. They gave the order to join up because they needed people on the inside, and well, here I am. Other than that, I've pretty much been kicking myself in the ass for not listening to you."

"We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, but this one is killing a lot of people."

"Yes, well, enough of this depressing stroll down memory lane. Let's should get down to business. What can you tell me?"

"Well," Chance started. "Felis likes to tell people less than they need to know. Things are going pretty well on the surface but anyone observant kat knows there's a lot of animosity between the Alliance and the Enforcers. We think that might be our best hope of getting things in motion."

"You intend to lead a revolution?"

"Not lead, just start."

"So how can we use that animosity to our advantage?"

"Well, we've been dicking around for some time with the idea of pitting the two against each other. Since the biggest threat to our operation is the Enforcers, we were thinking it would be best if we started by killing Felis and pinning it on the Enforcers."

"Started?" asked Jake.

"Yes, you see, there's two parts to the plan. The first phase is turning public opinion against the Enforcers. That won't be enough to sway most intelligent politicians however, who still see a necessity in keeping them around. That's when we kill Feral and make it look like the Alliance's handiwork."

"Thus giving the Enforcers a reason to retaliate and pitting the two against each other in an all out grab for power."

"Which is exactly what we've been planning for." said Chance.

"So where do I fit into all this?"

"We need you to get close to Feral. Once we've done away with Felis, you take care of the VP and leave the rest to us." Jake finished his cup of coffee and set it down on the tray. He stood up and looked out the window, watching as a car passed by.

"So how can I get close to Feral?"

"You leave that to me." replied Jake.


	6. Chapter V

V

Phil Hima had never found much to interest him at baseball games. The very idea of drawing pleasure from watching people hit a ball with a wooden stick then run in a circle was something that escaped him. But there he sat in the stands of Victory Stadium watching as players who were nameless to him ran up and down the field.

"And Kesky takes a swing and a miss!" shouted the announcer from the booth above him. Phil had been careful to position himself below it so as to drown out the sound of the conversation he was going to have. Not many people sat near the announcer's booth. "That's the end of the third inning folks. It's time now for a short break. We'll be right back." A bead of sweat dropped on Phil's forehead. He hoped that the obnoxious announcer would return by the time the next inning began. That was another thing that had eluded his comprehension: how anyone could sit through the game for nine innings. With the action on the field temporarily subdued, Phil started looking around the stands. Like all public events he attended, Phil saw a multitude of uniforms: FBSS, Enforcers, Alliance Militia, and the gray and green uniforms of the youth movements: Alliance Youth and Junior Enforcers. Kats in aprons and paper hats patrolled the crowd, peddling Kat Kola and hot tamales. With the break between innings, kats in Alliance Uniforms had been dispatched to hand out free copies of the party newspaper, _The Aryan Voice_. Others carried the more lurid Enforcer publication, a viciously anti-Semitic diatribe called_ Vigilance Now_. Its motto was "Keep Your Kountry Clean!"

"Comrades!" shouted a kat as he passed Phil. "The Aryan Voice is here to tell you the truth! Read for yourself about our glorious republic!" He stopped an offered a copy to Phil, but was politely refused. The kat kept moving. Phil had to be careful not to appear suspicious, but then again, nobody was about to question someone wearing an FBSS uniform. Even if he wasn't really an agent.

"So how's the game?" Phil turned his head. As though out of thin air, another kat in a FBSS uniform had appeared standing above him.

"Don't scare me like that." he said, slightly irritated. Behind him, the announcer had returned to the booth and his voice boomed out of the speakers, recapping the first three innings. "It's bad enough we do this in broad daylight," he said, now feeling secure. "I don't need anything else to make my heart skip."

"You forget that we this in broad daylight because it's the last place they'd think to look." The stranger seated himself. "So how have you been Phil?"

"Just fine, Chance." Chance sat down and crossed his arms.

"So how's the game?"

"Wouldn't know. Haven't been paying too much attention to it. So I hear our guy arrived yesterday."

"Yep. I gave him the briefing and everything."

"You're sure he can be trusted?"

"I've known this guy since we were kids. We both served in the Enforcers before the Alliance takeover. Besides, Ursalia wouldn't send someone we couldn't trust."

"I hope you're right. In this day and age, it's getting harder to tell." replied Phil. "So where is he now?"

"He has a lunch appointment with the Vice President. I told him that he might be able to replace the former advisor of administrative law."

"And they took your word?"

"Not quite." Phil raised his eyebrow. "I told them he was the first lady's half-brother."

"They bought it?" Chance put his finger over his mouth in a facetious manner.

"Would an FBSS officer lie?"

"How did you pull off that?"

"I called into our kats at the genealogical records office. They're making a few adjustments." Phil smiled.

"You diabolical son of a bitch." He waved for a vendor to come over. "How about a hot tamale on me."


	7. Chapter VI

VI

The Vice President resided at 1420 Powell Avenue, only a block away from the President's residence at 1400. Chance had made arrangements for Jake to meet with Feral, saying that he would be a perfect replacement his previous advisor on administrative law. Jake arrived a little before 2:00. After a security check and pat-down by agents of the secret service, he was ushered inside by young cadet from the Megakat Military Academy. "Welcome sir. Please follow me to the library." Jake nodded and followed the young kat as he led him out of the entrance hall to a large double room filled with shelves of books. On one side, a fireplace was adorned by a large, painted portrait of Feral in the uniform of an Alliance Militia member. It seemed oddly superficial. "I'll be back in a moment, sir." said the cadet.

"Take your time." The young kat disappeared from the room. Jake turned and began scanning the various volumes that adorned the room. Many of them were leather-bound first editions of books written by the so-called racial theorists of the republic. He sighed as he glanced over copies of _The Struggle for Racial Survival_, _The Aryan Dream_, and _The Manifesto of the Alliance_. Perhaps most notorious of all these works was a 350-page tract entitled _The Plot Against Civilization_. It was written by the leader of the Khaki-Shirts, Rex Ford, and along with the Manifesto of the Alliance, served as the standard of ideology in the republic. Within its pages were details of a supposed Jewish plot to enslave the world through the subversion of culture and control of international finance. Jake had parts of it and found it to be repetitive, inconsistent, and incoherent. Any sensible person would realize that by literary standards it was poorly written. But this was the Megakat Republic, and sensibility didn't matter as long as you were in step with the correct doctrine.

"You must be Jacob." Jake turned around and beheld of beautiful female kat of middle-age dressed in a pale purple blouse.

"And you must be Katherine. It's nice to finally meet my half-sister." They shook hands before Katherine pulled him closer and hugged him.

"What the hell, we are siblings after all." Jake smiled. They pulled apart. "We should be having lunch shortly. Ulysses is at a meeting at the Enforcer Headquarters. I hope you don't mind but we'll be having another guest joining us."

"Why should I mind?. It is your home." Katherine smiled and the pair sat down. Jake pointed to the painting above the mantel. "That's quite an impressive piece. Who painted that?"

"That thing? My father actually painted that as a birthday gift for Ulysses. He was a quite a talented artist. Personally, I think my husband looks rather silly in that uniform."

"Was your father a member of the Alliance?"

"Yes, but he joined after the takeover. Like everyone else, he wanted to play it safe. Did mother ever talk about him?"

"I wouldn't know. I never knew our mother too well. She died when I was young."

"I'm very sorry. We were never informed of her condition after she left."

"I'm sorry too. I mean she was your mother too afterall." There was a long pause before Jake and Katherine smiled awkwardly and the doors to the library opened. Feral stepped in. He wore no uniform but rather a three-piece suit.

"Ah, you must Mr. Shorthair." Feral extended his hand. Jake grasped it and found his hand somewhat crushed by the strength of the VP's grip.

"Yes sir. It's an honor to meet you."

"Ah the honor is mine son. Do you mind if I call you son?" Jake was somewhat startled by the friendliness of Feral's demeanor. Under any other circumstance, he could have easily been a friendly godfather or a favorite uncle.

"No sir."

"I have enough people calling me sir. You're my wife's half-brother, and that makes you family. You can go ahead and call me Ulysses."

"Yes si…Ulysses."

"That's more like it." Another kat entered the room. He wore a green Enforcers uniform and sported a small pair of round spectacles. "Honey, I would like you meet Dr. Karl Drexler." The kat clicked his heels and kissed Katherine's hand in a highly formal manner.

"The pleasure is mine." he said as he looked up.

"Karl, I'd also like you to meet Jake Shorthair. He's the kat that was recommended to replace my previous advisor." Karl extended his hand and Jake took it.

"An honor to meet you sir."

XXXXXXXX

The conversation at lunch was somewhat restrained. No matter what direction the it drifted in, politics somehow intermingled with it, and there was not middle ground. Books were either subversive or patriotic, art was either degenerate or moralistic, films were either true expressions of the Aryan spirit or vile Jewish concoctions meant to undermine the republic.

"Dr. Drexler, are you a doctor of medicine?" asked Katherine before putting a piece of roast potato in her mouth.

"Please, call me Karl. No, I am a doctor of genetics."

"Karl here is the head of our eugenics program dear." interjected Feral.

"Yes. At the moment, we're dealing with some very difficult legal issues, but it's of the utmost importance that we get better eugenics legislation passed. We need to accelerate the process of weeding out the unfit. In times of such high national security, mercy must supersede false notions of humanity."

"Some go as far as to say that we should go ahead and sterilize the undesirables. What do you think Jake? You've been rather quiet this afternoon. Maybe you have some insight for Dr. Drexler."

"Well, I don't know if I really can answer that question from a legal standpoint. Eugenics wasn't considered a serious aspect of law when I was studying. However, if we're talking pure sociology, it makes more sense to deal with the problem now, rather than have it be present twenty or thirty years in the future." Feral nodded. "But that would leave the question of what do about labor."

"True. We still able-bodied slaves." said Feral before lifting his glass of iced-tea and drinking. "I think I've talked a little too much. Tell me about yourself Jake."

"Well, I was born in a little town called Havenbrook. My father was a farmer there and that's where he met our mother." said Jake as he motioned towards Katherine. "I was home schooled until high school when my father sent me to a military academy."

"Where was that?" asked Feral.

"Highbury Military Institute. After that I went to law school on a scholarship."

"Where did attend law school?" asked Drexler.

"Megakat Institute of Law. After I got my masters I went down south for a job with a firm called RD Wentworth." Katherine stood up and began gathering the plates and glasses. "Here, let me help you with that."

"No, no. You sit right back down. She's got it under control." Jake sat back down slowly, somewhat puzzled by the vice-president's tone. "Why don't you get the coffee while you're in there honey? We have a few things we need to finish discussing."


	8. Chapter VII

VII

From the steps of the Jewish barracks, John Katawitz could see most of the barracks in Camp Billings. Long wooden structures, overcrowded and under-heated, barracks were segregated from one another depending on the type of prisoner. Political dissidents and resistance members were crammed into one area while another held common criminals and those perceived as being asocial. Jews were kept separate from the other religious minorities, and like all camps, the commandant took stringent measures to make sure that the homosexuals were as isolated as possible.

"What are you looking at?" John looking down from the steps to see the menacing visage of Haskins, the commander of the guards who held a well deserved reputation for what those in the camp referred to as "inflexible brutality." "Get your Jew-ass down of them steps. Ain't gonna let you think for a second you're above me." John moved in silent compliance as Haskins jabbed him in the back with the butt of his sub-machine gun. Slowly, but deliberately, the pair marched towards a long wooden structure that echoed the one John had just left. It could easily have been mistaken for any other barracks if not for the yellow star and black cross flying from the roof and the large plaque on the door that read _Federal Resettlement Camps Administration: Camp Commandant's Office_. John was tempted to scoff, but hesitated. Resettlement was hardly the word that should have been used to describe the murder factories that had sprouted up around the country after the takeover. "Move it!" shouted the guard as he pushed John in through the door, almost knocking him down. The building had a second floor and John was led up there to a door marked JOSEPH LYNX, CAMP COMMANDANT. A kat wearing a gray FBSS uniform and a small pair of round spectacles sat at desk outside the door, typing away at a computer.

Lynx wore a uniform like that of kat outside the room, but was distinguished by a pair of gold oak leaves on his lapels that indicated him as a storm unit leader. He was about thirty years old with slightly graying hair and a small square mustache grown in homage to the chief of the FBSS. "Sir, I've brought the prisoner you've requested. Jewish prisoner John Katawitz. ID number A-F-one-seven-six-nine-two."

"Thank you Haskins. You're dismissed." Haskins raised his arm in a stiff salute and executed an about face with almost mechanical precision. "Oh, Haskins, can you please tell my secretary he's free to go to lunch."

"Yes sir." Haskins left the room and made sure to close the door behind himself. John remained standing stiff at attention as Lynx began typing on his computer.

"Go ahead and have a seat Mr. Katawitz. You're not in any trouble. Quite the opposite in fact." John relaxed and sat down in the leather wooden chair directly in front of Lynx's desk. "It appears as though you're going to be released."

"Released?"

"Yes. The administration is in a process of downsizing and reorganizing the camp system. There's been a pretty steep increase in regular crime and we need to make some room. Your name came up on the potential release list and you've been approved." Lynx was very casual. John was astounded, almost dumbstruck by the seeming unrealism of the situation. All words escaped him save for six.

"I've been in here three years."

"We realize that, but situations change. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones."

"Oh, I do sir. Do you know if there are any jobs out there for someone like me?"

"We're releasing you on something called a limited workers program. You'll be getting a special permit to ensure you get work in one of the businesses participating in the program." Lynx pointed behind John with the pen in his hand. "There's a pile of clothes in that closet there. You can root through them and see if anything fits you." John nodded and turned around to open the closet to a pile of seemingly mismatched clothing items. Nothing quite fit, but he did manage to come across a plain white shirt and faded jeans that stayed on his hips relatively well.

"I used to be a doctor."

"What's that?"

"I was a doctor on the outside, a pediatrician. I wonder if any hospitals will take me back."

"I don't know if the program covers anything that fancy, but we might be able to work something out. There's always a need for people of your expertise." said Lynx as he unbuttoned the top strap of his holster and removed the pistol. When John turned around, he saw Lynx pulling back the slide and taking careful aim at his torso. The smile on his face slowly evaporated. "What the hell is this?"

"Mr. Katawitz, I'm afraid that there is one tiny catch that accompanies this release program. You see we actually need you for a special assignment." Katawitz was silent choosing instead to glare defiantly at Lynx. He clenched the fist holding the uniform he had worn. "You're people seem to be on rather good terms with God. Maybe you can tell him when you get to heaven that I'm not a bad man. I'm just doing my job."

"I don't believe in Heaven. You can tell him yourself." Katawitz looked down at the uniform and muttered something silently.

"What was that?"

"I said _three years_." Suddenly, and with surprising speed, Katawitz threw the uniform at Lynx, hitting him squarely in the face. Confounded, the commandant staggered back and struggled to remove the accursed clothing article. He wasn't fast enough. Before he could succeed, Katawitz had tackled him and knocked him to the ground causing him to fire an errant shot that shattered a window pane. The two struggled for control of the gun, each holding the other's neck. It became increasingly difficult for each of them as the need for air became more and more apparent.

_POW! _Katawitz's expression changed. All rage disappeared. His eyes grew wide and lifeless, and his hands grew limp. Slowly, Lynx pushed him off, noticing the bullet hole in side. He looked over to see Haskins standing in the doorway, slowly lowering a pistol. "Where were you?" asked Lynx as he stood up. The commander of the guards hurried over to help his superior.

"Sorry sir." Lynx coughed up some blood and wiped with his mouth before he began to regain his composure.

"Get some of our guys in here. We need this body in Megakat City by tomorrow."

"Yes sir." replied Haskins.

"And find my secretary."

"Yes sir." Haskins walked out the door. Ten or so minutes later, the young secretary walked into Lynx's office.

"Sir, are you alright? What happened here?" asked the secretary in an abashed tone.

"I'm fine. He attacked me, but it'll be a cold day in Hell before I let some dirty Jew get the best of me. Bring me a wash cloth and some warm water."

"Yes sir."

"And I'll be needing a new uniform. Send an order to the tailor."

"Yes sir." The secretary saluted and walked out the door.

"Oh and one other thing. Send someone to have that pane of glass replaced. I don't want anyone getting hurt."


	9. Excerpt: Tabby Crane

Excerpt from Tabby Crane's _The Persecution of Jews and Other Minorities in the Megakat Republic between 2019 and 2030. _(Sapphire Publications, Megakat City. 2051)

Initially, official documents referred to the camps as "detention facilities" which, at the time, were primarily being used to imprison political opponents. As the Alliance gained strength, the camp system was expanded, and the detainment of so-called "undesirables" began. It was at this time that the term "resettlement camp" was first used.

After the collapse of the Aryan Alliance and subsequent liberation of these camps, yet another new term wasused to describe them: extermination camps.

The following is a list of all known extermination camps in the Megakat Republic operating between 2019 and 2030.

Camp Anderson

Camp Anton

Camp Asherville

Camp Billings

Black Sands Reservation

Camp Boulder Springs

Camp Bowser

Camp Cold Water

Camp Crawford

Camp Creedmore

Camp Crystal

Camp Dunbar

Camp Eddington

Camp Flood

Camp Grand Valley

Camp Gray Rivers

Camp Honor

Camp Illmo

Ivy Rock Reservation

Camp Kerrington

Camp Lake Diamond

Camp North

North Plains Reservation

Camp Pendlehorst

Camp Perryville

Camp Pike

Camp Red Earth

Rickton Reservation

Camp Rush Waters

Camp Sandhorn

Camp Serval

Camp Silver Lake

Camp Sleepy Eye

Camp South Cape

Stomping Ground Reservation

Camp Upton

Camp Wander Hill

Camp White Rock

Camp Widmer

Lake Wisdom Reservation

Camp Zephyr


	10. Chapter VIII

VIII

"It's terrifying to look into his eyes." said Jake as Chance lit a cigarette. "He's not a kat. He pretends to be. He observes us and takes note of what makes us who we are, but he has not soul…no conscience." His comrade too a long drag on his cigarette.

"Where'd you learn to speak in such poetic maxims?" Jake looked at his comrade disconcertingly. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like I don't care, but you're telling me something that everyone in the country already knows. You ever seen the inside of a resettlement camp?" Jake nodded his head back and forth. "I have. It's the closest that you'll ever come to hell on earth." Chance finished the cigarette and stubbed out the end in a rather ornate ashtray. "You're now part of an exclusive club. You've met the kat who pulls the strings, and it's pretty terrifying, but in time you'll get numb to it."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"You can't be. It's the only way you'll survive now that we've got you on the inside. It's time to start putting the plans into action."

"What, now? Isn't this rather sudden?"

"Jake…All we have right now is time. When we live another day, we call it a miracle and thank God." Jake sighed at the notion of a God. He had long ago concluded him to be a fantasy, the events of the past few years only serving to further reinforce that. "So we need to do what we can when we can."

"Then what do we do?"

"Well, first we need a stoolie, someone we can use to pin the murder."

"Any ideas?"

"Well, there's that doctor you told us about. Drexler, right? What do you think?"

"That's a long shot. Drexler has a lot of connections in the Enforcers. Even if we could make it look real, his friends would probably find a way to absolve him."

"I see." The conversation was interrupted by the pitter patter of paws coming down the stairs. Jake turned to see an adorable little kitten trotting the stairs. Perhaps no older than nine or ten, she had beautiful chestnut hair and tannish-white fur. "Uncle Chance? Can we go now? I really want to see my mommy."

"Of course we can sweetheart. You've been very patient. Go upstairs and get your things and then we can go."

"Okay." said the mysterious little kitten. She turned and headed back up the stairs."

"Who's the kid?" asked Jake.

"Her name is Caitlin. Caitlin Katawitz. Her mother asked me to look after her."

"Katawitz? She's Jewish then."

"Umhm. Her father's name was John. Went into a camp about three years ago. He was a smuggler for the resistance."

"So where does she need to go then?"

"Safe-house on Block street. About two miles from here. There's also some kats I need you to meet." Caitlin came back down the stairs, holding a duffel bag in one hand and a small sketchpad in the other.

"I'm ready to go Uncle Chance."

"Alright Caitlin. I just need to grab something real quick before we go. Oh, and I'd like you to meet a very good friend of mine. Caitlin, this Jake Shorthair. He's my best friend." While Jake tried his best to be congenial towards the little kat, Chance closed the curtains and proceeded to reach into the fireplace and pry loose a brick from the back. He turned a small handle and a clicking noise indicated that the safety box had been unlocked.

"Hi there Caitlin." said Jake as he took her paw. "It's very nice to meet you." She turned her face away. Obviously shy, much like Jake had been at her age. "Are these your drawings?" he asked as he pointed to her sketchpad.

"Uh-huh." She replied lightly.

"Can I see them?" he asked. Slowly, she nodded her head and handed the pad to him. He opened it up and found an amazing drawing of Chance in his FBSS uniform on the first page. If not for the fact that she was standing in front of him, he surely would have mistaken it for the work of a professional artist. "Wow." he said out of genuine amazement. "These are exceptional." he continued as he rolled through the pages.

"Thank you." she said, opening up to him.

"She's got quite a talent, doesn't she." said Chance as he hand Jake two pieces of papers.

"No kidding. Where does she get it from?" asked Jake as he handed the sketchpad back Caitlin.

"No idea. She just picked up a pencil one day and off she went." Jake looked at Chance disbelievingly. "Though, we all have a sneaking suspicion that the art books her parents bought her may have had something to do with."

"Still, it's pretty incredible." Jake looked down at the items in his paw. The first was an ID card that identified her as Caitlin Whitetail, pure Aryan citizen as registered by the Megakat Genealogical Offices. The second was a membership card for the Alliance Youth. Apparently Caitlin was a zealous member of Megakat City Unit 900 and a junior leader's assistant. "Now remember Caitlin. What unit are you part of?" asked Chance. The kitten responded with the formulaic name of her unit and position. "Very good. Alright, let's get going."


	11. Chapter IX

IX

The safe house was an ordinary brownstone tenement at the corner of Block and Howell. It wasn't as upscale as the rest of the neighborhood, but it was a far cry from the slums and shantytowns that had once occupied the area during the depression. Jake and Chance both wore suits. It was considered prudent not to show up in uniform. They were greeted at the door by a giant, imposing, kat wearing bib-overalls. "Good day." he politely boomed. "Chance, how are you?" he said holding his hand out to the correct kat.

"I'm well, thank you. This is my partner Jake Shorthair." The giant stranger extended his paw.

"And this must be little Caitlin." He kneeled down and shook her paw, almost completely enveloping it in his. For such an imposing figure, he seemed to have a very gentle nature. "Please come in." The trio entered and Caitlin immediately ran into the arms of a much older she-kat.

"Mommy!" she shouted as the two embraced.

"Caitlin!" Jake's heart started to melt as he watched the two. He had a soft spot for family reunions.

"Jake. I want you to meet Seth Bluepaw." said Chance. Jake reached forward and gripped Seth's massive hand.

"Nice to meet you. So what do you do Seth?"

"I'm the angel Gabriel." Jake raised his eyebrow. "Come. I'll show you. Besides, we should leave these two alone." he said as he pointed to Caitlin and her mother. Seth led the pair upstairs to a single bedroom. Seth opened the closet and grabbed the bar from which a number of coats hung. After a few good jerks, he managed to retract it reached inside the tiny hole that had been revealed. After a few seconds of fiddling, he found the switch and flipped it, causing the secret door on his right to pop open. "Step into my office." Jake and Chance both ducked their heads and emerged in a room filled with computer equipment and digital radios.

"Ah, now I get it." said Jake. Seth sat down in a chair behind the desk where the CPU for all the equipment rested.

"Yep, I'm mouth and ears of the resistance of Megakat City. It used to be that we would use this to keep in touch with other cells. But ever since the Ursalians took an interest in this, we've had to expand to get messages from overseas."

"I guess that makes you my best friend." said Jake. Chance pretended to pout. "Next to you of course." Chance laughed then removed the cell phone from his pocket that had been vibrating.

"Who's that?" asked Seth.

"I don't know. It's either Phil Hima or someone talking about Phil Hima. I got to go outside." Chance left the room, leaving the two newly acquainted allies to make conversation.

"So what are you doing here?" asked Seth.

"Hmm?"

"Why are you here helping us, Mr. Shorthair?"

"I suppose it would have to be because of my mother."

"Your mother?"

"My mother taught me to be kind to all kats, irregardless of who they were, and until some time ago, that's the way the way this country looked at things too. Now, everything has been turned upside down, and I'm just here to put it right."

"Truly admirable." said Seth in all seriousness.

"What about yourself?" asked Jake.

"What drew me in? Well, all the same reasons as you, although my vendetta is somewhat personal." The kat who called himself Gabriel proceeded to unbutton his overalls and lifted his shirt to revealing two brand marks over either nipple, K and M.

"Wait, you're…"

"Like three hummingbirds. And I'm a native so that's two strikes against me." he said somewhat jokingly. "Luckily though, they got me in the days before they put the brands on your face."

"So you were in a camp?"

"Black Sands Reservation."

"So how did you escape, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, the captain of the guards was a big sonuvabitch named Darrow. And he enjoyed making the male inmates 'service him' I shall say. Well, one day he picked me, and while he was taking his clothes off, I stabbed him with his own knife. His uniform fit me pretty well, so I put it on, pulled the cap over my face as far as I could and walked out."

"They never went looking for you?"

"They didn't care. I was just one missing queer in a sea of names." Chance returned to the secret room.

"Let's go Jake." Both of them shook hands with Seth and then departed.

"Remember Mr. Shorthair: The Great Spirit makes bulletproof those who have come to put the wrong things right." Jake hoped he was right. He hoped with all his spirit that he was right.


	12. Chapter X

X

Joseph Lynx rarely left Camp Billings. There was hardly any need to. Everything he needed could be brought within the fences of the compound. If he wanted to see the latest film, the nearby theatre always kept a spare reel for him and his staff. If he needed a jeweler to repair his watch, he had one brought in. And if he felt like he wanted a she-kat, one could always be arranged. If one from the outside could not be acquired, there were always inmates who were willing to trade favors for extra rations. Living in Camp Billings was living in separate world. For prisoners, guards, and administrators, the camp was like living in another world, a finely-organized microcosm within the greater sphere of the Megakat Republic.

The reason for this detachment was simple: Running a camp required a different mindset; a totally morality from that of the outside world. One could not worry about the ramifications of due process when they were tasked with the annihilation of great masses.

The only time he ever did leave was once every three months to present his report to the National Resettlement Camps Board. That is why he was standing by the gates, waiting for his private car. Flanked on either side by burley FBSS bodyguards, Lynx was set to travel Megakat City where he would give his report about the quota he was expected to meet and by how many he had fallen short. Of course this quarter, like all others, he had surpassed it with flying colors.

The car pulled up and his private chauffeur stepped out and opened the door. He saluted and Lynx returned as he entered the vehicle. They were soon on the road, but strangely, not the highway as Lynx would have expected. "Hey Joe," he said. "Where are you going?" Mike didn't answer. He simply continued on his path deeper and deeper into the woods. "Mike?" Again, there was no reply. Mike pulled off to the side of the road by a covered bridge and turned off the engine. One of the bodyguards decided to intervene. He reached forward and tapped the kat on the shoulder.

"Hey, moron. The commandant said…" The bodyguard was suddenly cut off and reared with a cry of pain. Blood splattered on Lynx, the windows, and the other bodyguard. Mike had driven a knife through the kat's palm. Before either could react, Mike had already produced out a .22 pistol and silencer, killing the two bodyguards, then aiming at Lynx.

"Get out, sir" he ordered. Lynx stared at him antagonistically. "Did I stutter?" he asked facetiously. Lynx grunted and exited the vehicle. Joe followed a few seconds later. "Put your hands in the air and turn around."

"You know you won't get away with this." commented Lynx as he put his hands in the air.

"I only fear the judgment of God for what I'm about to do. Now turn around." Lynx did so, and a few seconds later, was unconscience, the result of a swift blow from the top of Mike's pistol. The treacherous kat turned a signaled. Several kats emerged from under the bridge and approached him

"Here he is. Now give me what's owed." One of the kats stepped forward and opened a case containing rolls of $100 bills. After flipping through them to make sure he hadn't been cheated, Mike took the case and drove off into the night, most likely with the intention of disappearing.

XXXXXXXXX

When Lynx came to, he found himself bound and hanging by his hands from what appeared to be the support beam of a barn roof. There were several blurred forms surrounding him. When his vision readjusted, he found that the forms were kats in Khaki Shirts uniforms and bandana's that covered their faces.

"Welcome to the land of the dead." Lynx tried to respond, but found that he couldn't. His mouth had been covered with duct tape. The kat who had just spoken stepped forward and removed his bandana. Branded onto his face was a giant letter K. It the camps, k stood for 'kweer.' Yes, Mr. Lynx. You should have killed all of us when you had the opportunity." Slowly, each of them removed the bandanas, revealing brand marks of various types. 'A' for agitator (a political dissident), 'J' for Jew, 'M' for Mongrel, 'KK' for kommon kriminal. The world had been turned upside down. Suddenly, Lynx found himself in the position he had become so accustomed to putting others in. The ringleader of the group stepped off to his side and opened a small tool chest. From it he withdrew a small plier-like tool with four prongs that retracted as the handles were squeezed. "Do you know what these are?" Lynx knew exactly what they were. They were a pair of "de-bullers," a device farmers used to castrate cattle. "Good, good. I'm glad to see we're on the same page." Slowly, the kat strode up to Joseph and pulled down his pants. Lynx began panic and fight violently as he saw K open the prongs of the device. KK and J stepped up and grabbed hold of his legs, allowing K place Lynx's penis in the device. "This is for John Katawitz." Nobody heard Lynx muffled screams that night. In fact, nobody ever heard or saw him ever again.


	13. Excerpt 2: Tiger S Sutton

Excerpt from Tiger S. Sutton's _A Study in Tyranny: The Megakat Republic Under the Aryan Alliance_. (Conckel Publications, Megakat City. 2063)

The election of Felis in 2019 cast a shadow of uncertainty on future relations between Ursalia and the Megakat Republic. Since the end of the Second War of Reconstruction, a state of perpetual unease had settled over both nations.

To quell Felis, Prime Minister Alexei Biankov quickly settled on a policy of appeasement, starting with the lifting of the twenty-year trade embargo Ursalisa had placed on the Megakat Republic. When Felis demanded the right to create colonies overseas, Biankov quietly approved. This only provided ammunition for his opponents in the National Democratic Party and when the November elections came, Biankov was swiftly defeated by his opponent, Nikolai Gdansk.

Upon taking office, Gdansk made it clear that policy of appeasement was coming to an end. He publicly warned Felis that any act of aggression would be met with equal force. To show his fangs, commissioned the building of several new battleships and aircraft carriers, built up the Ursalian army, and created a special new intelligence division tasked with monitoring military buildup in the Megakat Republic. But even this was not enough to deter Felis, and five months later he pushed the Ursalians too far.

On March 1, 2020, Felis ordered an invasion of the Red Free State, an independent vassal nation loyal to Ursalia on the Republic's southern border. Unable to stop the Megakat juggernaut, the head of the government, Prince Maximillian V, fled to Ursalia and set up a government in exile. There he began weekly radio broadcasts, urging his citizens to resist the Felis' iron heel. Though initially Gdansk only supported the Free State's war effort by supply convoys and paradrops, his attitude, rapidly changed as influxes of refugees brought news of atrocities committed by Megakat soldiers and security personnel. It looked as though war was inevitable.

Finally, on May 3, an invasion fleet sailed into the water's of the Red Free State. Codenamed Operation Midnight, Ursalian battleships and aircraft pounded Megakat Forces and coastal defense before 500,000 troops charged onto shore. It was a spectacular success and a crushing blow for Felis.

Over the next eighteen months, Ursalian and the newly liberated Free State forces fought a bloody war of attrition to drive Megakat forces northward. On April 13, the Ursalian Third Army captured the city of Bosen. They now stood on the brink of invading the Megakat Republic. Felis had been backed into a corner, and now he was willing to negotiate.

A cease-fire was declared on May 1 and Felis withdrew remaining Megakat Forces from the Red Free State. This did little, however, to lessen the tension. Both sides increased troop numbers along the border and began aggressive pursuits of an advanced nuclear missile program.


	14. Chapter XI

XI

"Jake, Jake! Wake up!" Jake stirred and turned over, moving his mouth away from the tiny puddle of cold drool that had formed at the base of the pillow. Chance groaned and started rolling his friend back and forth with the heel of his boot. "Jake, get up!" Suddenly, Chance found himself hurled to the ground and Jake was on top of him holding a knife over him.

"Jesus. Chance, you can't do that to me."

"Just means the Ursalians did their job well. But at the moment, our focus needs to be elsewhere." Chance pointed to the television. "Turn it to the news." Jake placed the knife on his bed table and switched on the set. The familiar face of Anne Gora appeared on the screen, along with a crawl detailing some sort of information about suspects that was incoherent to Jake.

"At the time, we have no further suspects, but FBSS director Steele has already begun a perfunctory investigation and agents have been dispatched. For those of you who are just joining us, we are in the midst of a tragedy. It is my deepest regret to have to inform you that our beloved president, Paul Bender Felis, was assassinated early this morning. According to initial reports, the kat responsible for this heinous and cowardly crime has been identified as being John Katawitz, a Jew who, as of a week ago, was reported as escaped from the resettlement camp at Billings. Though nothing has been ascertained at this time, it is believed that Katwitz was allowed into the President's residence by a fellow conspirator who was part of the Army guard."

"Shit…" said Jake.

"The weapon used to kill the president was a .45 caliber Bentley automatic, a weapon of Ursalian issue. Whether or not the Ursalians were involved is not known at this time, but what is known is that the weapon was issued in a foreign country." Chance reached forward and switched off the set. With a look of detachment he stood up and stared out the window. Dark clouds had started to form earlier that morning. By now they had finally finished covering the sun and rain began to sparsely hit the panes. It wasn't long before it turned into a full downpour. Jake arose from his bed, dressed only in plaid pajama pants and an off-white muscle shirt. Chance turned around and held up his finger in a deductive manner. "There's something strange."

"What?" asked Jake as he opened his desk drawer and withdrew a super .38.

"The first time she was talking about Felis, she said he had been assassinated, but the second time she said he had been killed." he said as Jake opened the cylinder and began placing the cartridges in slots. Chance watched his friend as he fingered the cartridges "Well, what do we do now?" Jake held the last round between his thumb and index finger for several seconds before placing it in the last empty chamber.

"We improvise. Feral still has to go, but in the meantime we have to violate your primary operating principle."

"What's that?" asked Chance.

"We wait. We wait for Mr. Gdansk."


	15. Chapter XII

XII

Paul Bender Felis was laid to rest among the presidents that had come before him, though his send-off was far more lavish. Thousands of teary-eyed Khaki-Shirts filled the streets, watching with unrelenting grief as their deceased ruler was sent to his final resting place in the Megakat National Cemetery. Traditionally, the President's widow led the procession, but Felis had never married. Instead, an honor guard consisting of members of the militia, army, and Enforcers, carried flags. The pallbearers were selected from each of the branches of the armed forces, Army, Navy, Air Force, and Enforcers. Behind them, in keeping with tradition, the vice-president followed in a limousine. For security purposes it was closed-top.

A grand stand held important government officials and military leaders. Among them was Khaki-Shirts leader Rex Ford, FBSS chief Andrew Steele, and Enforcer General Paul Puma. To keep tensions to a minimum, a separate grand stand separate grandstand had been erected to hold members of the Ursalian delegation.

XXXXXXXXX

The President was dead. The kat who had "saved" the Megakat Republic was now resting six feet below the ground, and thousands had come to pay their respects. A reception was held at the President's residence in his office, and though Jake wished to avoid it at all costs, he knew that it would prove suspicious if he did. The main Ursalian delegation was kept separate from the rest the main reception, theirs being held down the hall in the library.

A crowd of black and gray uniforms, double-breasted and three-piece suits filled the room, mingling with one another over hors d'oeuvres and flutes of champagne. Jake stayed near the table for the most part until Feral entered the room. He approached and shook his hand, appearing congenial before the new dictator.

"A terrible thing. The nation has lost its savior"

"Amen, son. It's a tragedy. But it won't go unpunished. I got some big shoes to fill now that Felis is gone." Feral turned around and Jake raised his eyebrow, curious at his tone of voice. "Ah, there they are. Jake, there's someone I'd like you to meet." In the corner of the room were three kats standing in circle, all of them dressed in the gray FBSS uniforms. Feral tapped the one closest them on the shoulder and he turned around. His fur was reddish-brown and he had golden yellow hair combed to one side. On his lip he wore a small square mustache of the same color. "Jake I'd like you to meet Andy Steele." Jake's heart sank as he looked into the penetrating blue eyes of the kat who held sole control over the lives of every citizen in the country. "Andy, I'd like you to meet Jake Shorthair."

"Ah, so you're the kat his Excellency has told me so much about." Steele offered his hand and Jake took it. The director bowed slightly as they shook. "It's wonderful to finally meet you." he said in cool, calculating maxims, not unlike those of Dr. Drexler.

"Steele here was with me from the beginning. Served as my vice-commander and head of intelligence. Gave him a lot of good insights into how to organize internal security."

"His Excellency is overgenerous." commented Steele.

"Nonsense. Andy here is just modest is all." Feral patted him on the back before looking down at his wrist watch. "If you'll excuse me gentlemen, I must go and retrieve my wife." Steele watched as he left the room.

"So his Excellency tells me you're a lawyer specializing administrative law."

"Yes sir."

"There's no need for sir. Anyway, the president says you know quite a lot."

"Yes, I have my doctorate. I don't know how much it's worth though, seeing as I received it before the reorganization."

"It's worth a hell of a lot. You see, we don't have many kats who were trained in administration before the reorganization. We need kats with your expertise to help us with some of the legal barriers we're having with the constitution.

"Legal barriers?"

"Indeed. It's a tricky mine field to maneuver. You know, I think I might have a place for you in our legal division. How would you like to be an advisor?"

"Thank you sir."

"It's no trouble. Just give me your address and I'll send someone around 2:00 tomorrow to pick you up. I have some kats I'd like you to meet."


	16. Chapter XIII

XIII

The day after the funeral an FBSS staff car showed up at Chance's house. A kat wearing lieutenant's bars gave him a laminated security card before telling him he was coming to HQ. They drove for only ten or so minutes before arriving on Worth Street.

The headquarters of the FBSS was a monolithic yet plain building of concrete and glass. The only indicator of its purpose was the enormous stylized eagle rising from the roof like some god of the earth. It was not a tourist attraction. Much like a medieval castle, it was meant to intimidate onlookers and remind them of their submission to the state.

In the lobby, workers in blue jumpsuits were removing a giant portrait of Felis. Near them, leaning up against the wall, was a portrait of equal size depicting Feral in his Enforcer's uniform.

The lieutenant led Jake to the second floor through a long corridor filled with cubicles and a flutter of kats wearing gray. At the end of it, opposite to where they were walking, the path was blocked by a steel gate and several armed guards sitting at a desk.

"Hey, what's down there?" asked Jake.

"That's top level stuff. You need security clearance from both Steele _and _the president to enter."

"What implies top level?"

"I'm not the kat to ask. Personally I'd rather not know."

"Naked celeb photos I would guess." The lieutenant smiled before putting his index finger in front of his lips, then led Jake followed him to a dimly-lit conference room at the end of the hall. In the center of the room was a large oak table surrounded by twelve chairs, of which only three were occupied. Two of the kats wore FBSS uniforms while the third wore a double-breasted suit. "Sir, I've brought Mr. Shorthair." The kat in the suit rose from his seat. Jake noticed that he had a small square mustache grown in homage to the chief of his organization.

"Excellent. You can go now Soren." Lieutenant Soren saluted, then closed the doors and left Jake in the den of lions. "Mr. Shorthair, it's a pleasure to have you with us. I'm Vice-Director Dawson. This is Brigade Leader Cougar and Colonel Bishop."

XXXXXXXXX

"At the moment, our biggest problem is article fifteen of the constitution." said Bishop.

"You mean Habeas Corpus?" asked Jake.

"Precisely. The constitution makes it clear that it cannot be suspended except for in times of war or civil rebellion."

"So declare a state of emergency. Tell the public there's been a resurgence of Jewish terrorist activity."

"Can't." said Cougar. "We just lifted a state of emergency. The public is happy and we need to present a prosperous image."

"Then just ignore it. It's worked pretty well so far."

"True, but with what we have in mind, it has to go." Jake put his fingers together and leaned back in his chair.

"What exactly do you have in mind?"

"Resettlement is a fairly complicated process. Because the constitution is still technically the law of the land, it makes for a good amount of paperwork and red tape to go through. We're hoping that within the next year we can shift our focus towards things like mass sterilization. That way, we won't be dealing with the problem down the road."

"Well, if the constitution is such a grandiose barrier, why don't you just get rid of it?" Dawson, the kat who wore the suit, stood up and walked to the head of the table.

"I've been pushing that for a long time. But these fairies won't have anything to do with it."

"You can't scrap the constitution. It's sacred. We'd all be lynched."

"So make a new one. Make one that says whatever you need it so say and proclaim it a true Aryan document. Then you'll get the people behind you one-hundred percent." Dawson grinned.

"You ought to be in the Department of Public Enlightenment." he said.

"I don't think I'd be able to get use to the underwear." replied Jake. All four of them had a laugh.


	17. Chapter XIV

XIV

The days following the assassination were strangely quiet. There were few arrests, and other than John Katawitz, no one else had been killed. A week of mourning was declared, a codeword meaning that the Alliance was biding its time. The Khaki Shirts were being arming, the Enforcers were planning, and the FBSS was drawing up hit lists. Jake and Chance sure of it.

XXXXXXXXX

A week following the funeral, Jake met Seth by the Black Sands River a few miles out of the city. The giant kat gave him a small piece of paper containing several small lines of jumbled letters. After working through the code, it read:

SITUATION HAS CHANGED. PROCEED WITH PLAN AS ORIGNALLY INDICATED BY CONTACT. MAKE ADJUSTMENTS AS NECESSARY. –SIREN

Siren was Nikolai Gdansk's codename. When he was finished, Jake removed a disposable lighter from his coat pocket and set the paper on fire. It twisted and burned in Jake's palm before he blew the ashes from his paw and watched them flutter into the river.

"So what's the plan?" asked Seth

"I do what I came here to do."


	18. Chapter XV

XV

Chance looked down at his watch. The blinking digital numbers read 11:47 AM. "So when is he supposed to come?" asked Phil.

"He said he'd be back around noon." replied Chance. "Seth had to give him the message personally." Chance noticed that his partner was fidgeting. For Phil, that was normal, but he was doing so more than usual. "Are you alright?" Chance's comrade looked up.

"Yeah. I think it's this new allergy medication. Makes me twitchier than hell."

"You want me to get you something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Well, I need some coffee." Chance left the room and walked to the kitchen. He found coffee but no filters, forcing him to improvise using a paper towel. As he rummaged through the fridge for milk, his cell phone rang. "Colonel Furlong speaking."

"Get out of the house." Chance was taking back with the sudden order.

"What? Who the hell is this?" There was a long pause. "Hello? Hello? Skaredy-kat, it that you?"

"Yes, this is Skaredy-kat. Listen, Chance, in about five minutes, the FBSS is going to be swarming outside your house. You need to get out, and don't tell…" The voice died. Chance looked down to see his phone had lost the call. Slowly, he turned off the coffee maker and walked back upstairs. "We need to leave Phil."

"Why?"

"The FBSS is coming."

"FBSS?"

"Look, let's just get the hell out of here." Phil hesitated, then nodded.

"Okay, let's go." Chance went into the TV room and informed Caitlin and here mother of the situation. They quickly grabbed their coats and Caitlin's sketchpad. The four were walking to the front door when the sirens began blaring. "Too late." said Phil as he pulled his pistol out.

"Take them through the tunnel. I'll try and hold them off."

"What? Chance, no you have to…"

"Don't argue with me." ordered Chance as he pulled out his own weapon. "Take the through the tunnel and I'll meet up with you later." The group ran to the kitchen where Phil opened a cupboard and removed a false back. He also removed a box of hand grenades and Katlashnikov-47 assault rifle, handing it to Chance. "Remember, when you get to the end of the block, you have to lift the handle before it can turn." said Chance as he placed a 50-round drum magazine in the weapon. He then knelt down and hugged Caitlin close.

"Do you have to go away?" she asked.

"Only for a little while. I'll come back, I promise." he said reassuringly. With that, the three went into the tunnel with Phil in the lead. Chance replaced the false back and walked out of the kitchen, the rifle clutched tightly in his paws. By now, three FBSS vans and a number of squad cars had filled the street. Kats in gray and black covered every square inch of the front lawn while a fire team was making its way around the back. Chance, of course, was already aware of this. He had spent years getting to know their tactics, and the protocol dictated they would enter through a second story window before sending a team in through the front door. After hearing a crash on the second floor, Chance knelt down at the base of the stairs and pulled the pin from a grenade. He held the handle for three seconds before tossing it up the stairs.

"Shit, fire in…!" The team leader's voice was cut off as the grenade exploded. The team scattered as Chance walked up the stairs and opened fire with the assault rifle. Within seconds, they were all dead. Chance then ran back down the stairs and smashed open a front window. The FBSS responded with a volley of fire that nearly obliterated the outer layer of brick. Chance returned fire, keeping their heads down for ten or twelve seconds before the magazine was empty. Again the FBSS fired back, this time hitting Chance in the shoulder and chest. He slumped back clutched both wounds. A smoke grenade came into the window and began filling the room with a dense gray fog. Chance reached over and pulled the box of grenades into his lap, grabbing one and pulling the pin. He then waited, thinking of his favorite saying: _When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail_.

XXXXXXXX

Phil and his consignment inched slowly along in the near dark, illuminated only by the dying light of Phil's flashlight. "I should have gotten new batteries." he said aloud. He looked back. Tears were welling in Caitlin's eyes. "Don't cry dear. We're only a few feet away." Caitlin's mother reached forward and grabbed her kitten's paw. Phil's flashlight illuminated the end wall of the tunnel. He pointed it upwards and reached for the handle, giving it a quick jerk upwards before rotating it. "Wait here. I need to check it out." Phil lifted himself out of the hole. There were a few moments of silence before he reached his hand back down and motioned for Caitlin and her mother to follow. The two hoisted themselves out of the hole and straight into the waiting arms of the FBSS.


	19. Chapter XVI

XVI

As he rounded the corner of the Baxter and Worth, Jake saw the smoke rising from the remains of what had once been the front entrance of the safe house. A few agents looked over, causing Jake to speed his approach to the next block. He quickly parked the car and got out, seeing if he could catch a glimpse of the disaster through the fences. "Oh…shit." he said. "Oh God, fuck no." It was his last thought before a blow to the head knocked him out.

XXXXXXXXX

A blurred figure was the first thing to appear to Jake as he opened his eyes. Slowly, other things came into vague focus. "Can you hear me?" asked the figure. Jake groaned and moved his head back and forth. "Try not to move a too much. I hit you pretty hard. Sorry about that." When the blood had returned to his head, Jake sat up. "My name is Fellina." Jake's vision was beginning to correct. He could now make out the features of a female kat in her mid twenties.

"I'm Jake, Shorthair."

"Fellina. Fellina Feral." Jake's eyes widened to saucers. "Relax. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Fair enough. Where are we?"

"My home. It's about three miles from the safehouse." Jake's memory was jarred and he wobbled to his feet.

"The safehouse! Jesus what happened? Where's Chance?" Fellina calmly pulled him back down to the ground.

"Please Jake, just listen."

"I don't know who you are. I don't know where Chance is. I've got a job to do. How the fuck am I supposed to trust you?"

"There's the fact that I saved you from the FBSS." Listen Jake, you have to understand. Chance is dead. Caitlin and her mother are in Steele's custody. The mission is over." The answer slammed into Jake's mind like a freight train. He slowly fell onto his back and stared blankly at the ceiling. "I know it's hard but…"

"No. You don't know." he said before standing up and whirling around. "Where are my fucking shoes? I gotta get out of here."

"And where do you plan to go? Perhaps this hasn't occurred to you but if they knew Chance was working with the resistance, they probably know the names of his contacts. For all we know there's a million FBSS agents out there looking for you." Jake turned back. There was a tense silence before he finally knelt down and sat on the floor.

"Fuck." he said to himself. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. Well, what can we do now?"

"Nothing. I told you the mission is over. Jake, are you familiar with what's called a blind-parcel?" Jake nodded his head side to side. "My only job is to ensure that you are returned to Ursalia in the event that the mission needs to be aborted."

Jake lifted his finger and pointed.

"No." he said defiantly. "Nothing is over yet. This is just a complication."

"Jake, just listen. I was Chance's secondary contact. He's dead and I now need to help you get back."

"This isn't about me!" he shouted. Slowly, he walked to the window. The sun was starting to set, casting an orange-pink glow across the horizon. In the distance, beyond the tops of the houses, Jake saw the looming outline of Megakat City. The blow to the head still hadn't totally subsided, but he remembered… he remembered that everything he hated was embodied in that mastodonic skyline. "If it was about me, I would be crying now. My best friend is dead now, but what we were doing was bigger than either of us." He turned back to Fellina. "No, it's not over yet."


	20. Chapter XVII

XVII

Darkness encircled Feral's staff car as it moved down the winding dirt road. There was no one around for miles. They were miles from civilization, deep in the rural countryside.

"My end of the research is complete." said Dr. Drexler finished cleaning his glasses and slid them back on.

"Good, good. As soon as we get your sample we can start working." replied Feral. Rex Ford was also in the car. He didn't seem to share the same enthusiasm for whatever it was they were talking about.

"This is insane." he commented. Drexler and Feral turned to him.

"Something you'd like to add?" asked the doctor.

"What we're doing here is unfeasible."

"It's plenty feasible." replied Feral. "We did it afterall."

"That's not what I mean. What I mean is you can't possibly control this thing."

"Weren't you listening to me when I said my staff would begin working as soon as we got the sample?"

"We're not about to make something we can't control." said Drexler. "Everything we've used so far during synthesis has a proper countermeasure. Stopping it is totally within our ability."

"But how are you going to get the public behind you on this?"

"What they don't know won't hurt them." replied Feral.

"But what if there's an accident. Look I think it's time we made it known to them. The administration always been supportive of scientific endeavors. If I just present it to them like that, they'll back you up." Feral cocked his head and looked at Ford strangely. He then tapped on the glass that seperate the driver. It rolled down and very calmly Feral ordered the him to stop.

"Out." he said pointing at Ford. "I said get out of the car." Ford complied and opened the door. Feral followed closely behind, shoving him hard out of the way. "Stay there." ordered the President as he went into the trunk. A few seconds later, he closed it and emerged with an object that was obscured by the darkness. As he stepped forward, Ford saw what it was, a golf club. "Why is it that the Alliance is always trying to fuck me over?"

"Fuck you over? We're the only reason you're the president."

"I'm the only reason I'm the president. And I think it's time to exercise my executive power and seriously reconsider how the Alliance should operate."

"I was only trying to get you to open your fucking eyes. I didn't say I was going to tell them."

"Is that your job?" Feral brought the club up and gripped it with both paws. "Didn't think so." He took a swing at Ford who dodged it and grabbed the head of the club. The two struggled for control of the bludgeon until Feral's strength finally won. He pulled out of Ford's grip and jabbed him hard in the stomach, winding him completely and causing him to drop to his knees. "Now, it's time you learn your place."

"Fuck you!" shouted Ford, his last act of defiance before Feral brought the club down and smashed in his temple. With the deed done, Feral threw the club back in the trunk and stepped back into the car.

"Now that that is over with, we'll be able to move things ahead of schedule." said Drexler.

"Precisely. Everything will go as planned without interruption," Feral straightened his tie. "Now that I'm President."


End file.
